Abstract

Some of the classical paradigms of gene regulation have been challenged by global-scale analysis of eukaryotic transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation (PTGR), made possible by the development of genomics and proteomics tools. Post-transcriptional events in particular are increasingly being recognized as important sources of gene regulation. The hundreds of regulatory RNA-binding proteins that exist in eukaryotes may regulate dozens to hundreds of functionally related RNA targets. Likewise, the expression of considerable fractions of many eukaryotic genomes is affected by hundreds of non-coding RNAs, e.g., microRNAs. These findings suggest an enormous regulatory potential for PTGR that may affect virtually every message in a cell. All gene regulatory systems are composed of simple network circuits that coordinate the transfer of regulatory signals to a target gene/message.